Location: Ireland

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Verdronken Land of Saeftinge is a colossal, genial nation, ruled by Leader with a fair hand, and renowned for its complete lack of prisons. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 7.445 billion are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whoever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Social Equality, Education, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 55%, and even higher for the wealthy. The private sector is almost wholly made up of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, although the government is looking at stamping this out.

CEOs can't hear the term 'Fire Sale' without bursting into tears, the "Underwear of Women in Power" issue of The Saeftinge City Times is sold out, the children of Saeftinge are often remarked upon for their cheery attitude to extreme violence, and Max Barry is this year's Miss Saeftinge. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is a major problem, probably because of the country's utter lack of prisons. Saeftinge's national animal is the sheep, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the euro.

Saeftinge is ranked 21st in Ireland and 79,319th in the world for Shortest Average Lifespan, scoring -17 on the Bus Surprisal Index.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and